IT strategy & consulting in Ponsonby
Most growing businesses need IT leadership long before they need a full-time IT manager. We act as your virtual IT manager: setting a budget, planning the next three years, dealing with vendors and giving you straight answers when an insurer, auditor or client asks hard questions.
Onsite technicians cover Ponsonby. Most problems are fixed remotely first; when a job needs hands, a technician comes to you.
IT strategy & consulting for Ponsonby businesses
Ponsonby Road and the streets around it are home to architects, design studios, marketing agencies, fashion labels and property businesses, many working from converted villas or rooms above the shops. Teams tend to be small, image-conscious and busy, with clients dropping in for meetings.
Old timber villas with lath-and-plaster walls swallow Wi-Fi signal and make cable runs awkward, so a single router in the hallway rarely covers the back studio. Creative teams often run Macs alongside a few Windows machines, move large design and video files to the cloud, and need printers and plotters that work for everyone.
We also deal with the people around your IT. We read software contracts before you sign, talk to vendors on your behalf, fill in cyber insurance and client security questionnaires accurately, and sit in on meetings with new suppliers so somebody on your side understands the technical details being discussed. That saves directors hours each month, avoids contracts that lock you into the wrong system and means the answers you give insurers and clients are accurate, which matters if you ever need to make a claim.
Technicians come to Ponsonby offices for Wi-Fi fixes, Mac and Windows setups and small cabling jobs, and most everyday help is done remotely so the studio keeps working. Larger changes are quoted in writing first.
What's included
Three-year roadmap
What to replace, upgrade or retire over the next three years, in order, with the reasons and the expected cost of each step.
Insurance and security questionnaires
Accurate answers to cyber insurance, client and tender questionnaires, with a list of anything to fix before you submit.
Current state review
A written assessment of your systems, security, licences and contracts, with the risks ranked and explained in business terms.
Yearly IT budget
A budget for hardware, software, services and projects, so IT spending is planned before the financial year rather than discovered during it.
Regular leadership meetings
A standing meeting with the directors to review progress, risks and upcoming decisions, with short written notes afterwards.
Vendor management
We deal with internet, phone and software suppliers for you, chase faults and review renewals before they roll over.
Is it right for your Ponsonby office?
A virtual IT manager suits businesses that:
- Are growing and making bigger IT decisions than before
- Have IT spending that varies wildly from year to year
- Are choosing a new core business system
- Face insurance, client or tender questions about security
- Want someone to manage vendors and contracts on their behalf
- Have a director spending hours each week on IT decisions
How getting started works
- Free IT health check. We look at your devices, accounts, backups and network and tell you what we find, in plain English.
- Clear proposal. A written monthly price per user and a list of any fixes, with nothing hidden.
- Handover. We collect admin access and documentation from your current provider and keep your team working.
- Day-one fixes. Security gaps, failed backups and urgent risks are dealt with first.
IT strategy & consulting in Ponsonby: questions
Do you support Macs as well as Windows in creative studios?
Yes. We manage Macs and Windows computers side by side, with the same security, updates and backups on both. Shared drives, fonts, printers and cloud storage are set up so everyone can open the same files.
Our villa office has dead spots. Do we need new cabling?
Not always. Often a couple of well-placed access points linked by cable or a wired backhaul solve it, and we can usually run that cabling under the floor or through the ceiling without wrecking period features. We look first and quote before any work starts.
Do we need a managed IT plan to use this?
No. Some businesses have their own IT person or another arrangement for daily support and use us only for strategy. We are happy to work that way.
How often would we meet?
Most clients meet quarterly, with more frequent catch-ups during a big project such as an office move or system change. Meetings can be in person in Auckland or Hamilton, or online.
Is this the same as managed IT?
No. Managed IT keeps things running day to day. Strategy and consulting is about planning and decisions. The Complete plan includes a yearly budget and replacement plan; deeper consulting can be added on any plan or bought on its own.
How is consulting charged?
Small pieces of advice are billed at our hourly rate of $109 plus GST. A full review and roadmap, or an ongoing virtual IT manager arrangement, is quoted in writing first with a fixed scope.
More IT services in Ponsonby
- Managed IT
- IT support
- Cyber security
- Microsoft 365
- Networks & Wi-Fi
- Internet & phones
- Backup & disaster recovery
- Cloud & servers
- Email security & deliverability
- CCTV & access control
- Printers, copiers & scanning
- Laptops, PCs & devices
- Office moves & fit-outs
- Co-managed IT
- Security awareness training